No, you’re not making it up: The days really are short, the nights really are long, and both tend to be chilly and damp here in western Oregon. This is the dreary time of year that calls for something warm, cozy and distracting by way of entertainment, which is probably why winter holidays became such a thing in the first place.
So in case you’re looking for holiday diversions to free your mind from the stress of insane politics, Trump’s idiotic war in Iran and the growing climate disaster, here are our suggestions, from the utterly traditional (think The Nutcracker) to the outrageously different.
The tradition-minded will want to check out a range of shows from Eugene Symphony performing Handel’s Messiah to The Shedd’s annual Christmas show, but there are lots of other opportunities as well.
At 2:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 6, Eugene Concert Choir presents Gloria! A Holiday Celebration at the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall. The program includes John Rutter’s Gloria, with Franz Schubert’s Mass in G, with a few carols woven in, starting with pre-concert festivities in the lobby at 1:30 pm. Tickets start at $29 at HultCenter.org.
Eugene Symphony, with guest conductor Rei Hotoda, dusts off Handel’s Messiah, “Hallelujah Chorus” and all, at 3 pm Sunday, Dec. 13, in the Hult’s Silva Hall. Tickets are $12.50 to $98.70 at HultCenter.org.
Eugene enjoys not one, but two professional ballet companies, Eugene Ballet and Ballet Fantastique, and both do holiday shows this time of year. Eugene Ballet brings back Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker for six performances in the Hult’s Silva Hall Dec. 19 through 24. The performance at 7:30 pm Wednesday, Dec. 23 will be Nutcracker: Short & Suite, a condensed “sensory friendly” production by Eugene Ballet Youth in which house lights are dimmed but not dark, and there are no strobe lights or explosives. Recorded music will be used for the show to limit sudden sound fluctuations. The performance also includes narration to help clarify the story, with ASL seats reserved for audience members that benefit from this support. Tickets to all shows start at $32 at HultCenter.org.
Meanwhile, on Thanksgiving weekend, Ballet Fantastique brings back its contemporary interpretation of Charles Dickens’ holiday favorite A Christmas Carol, setting the story in the 1940s U.S. with jazz standards by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole performed by Eugene’s own Halie Loren and her band. The show runs 7:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 28, and 2:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 29, in the Hult’s Silva Hall. Tickets start at $24 at HultCenter.org.
Down the road apiece in Cottage Grove, check out Cottage Theatre’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, which opens Dec. 4 and runs through Dec. 20. The show is a sequel to Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, looking at the clever, bookish middle sister who is beginning to tire of life on the sidelines two years after Austen’s story ended. Tickets are $20-$32 at CottageTheatre.org.
OK, it’s not exactly holiday related, but the musical Finding Neverland, which runs Nov. 20 to Dec. 19 at Actor’s Cabaret of Eugene, is certainly diverting. Based on a stage play that became a movie, the show follows the relationship between playwright J.M. Barrie and the family that inspired the story of Peter Pan. Tickets are $21 to $59 at ActorsCabaret.org or by calling 541-683-4368, with dinner available before curtain time at $50-$59 extra.
If you’re feeling nostalgic about Christmas music past, check out The Heart of Christmas, which runs 7:30 pm Friday, Dec. 18, and 3 pm Sunday, Dec. 20, at The Shedd Institute. Directed this year by Eugene’s own Evynne Hollens, the show runs the gamut from traditional carols to Tin Pan Alley, as well as some original pieces by Peter Hollens. Tickets are $15.75-$36 at TheShedd.org, with dinner available before the show.